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Postal Service, union wrangle over Staples outlets

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The new outlets are staffed by low-wage Stables employees.


By SAM HANANEL

WASHINGTON (AP) — The opening of Postal Service retail centers in dozens of Staples stores around the country is being met with threats of protests and boycotts by the agency's unions.

The new outlets are staffed by Staples employees, not postal workers, and labor officials say that move replaces good-paying union jobs with low-wage, nonunion workers.

"It's a direct assault on our jobs and on public postal services," said Mark Dimondstein, president of the 200,000-member American Postal Workers Union.

The dispute comes as the financially struggling Postal Service continues to form partnerships with private companies, and looks to cut costs and boost revenues. The deal with Staples began as a pilot program in November at 84 stores in California, Georgia, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania as a way make it easier for customers to buy stamps, send packages or use Priority and certified mail.

Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said the program has nothing to do with privatization and everything to do with customer service and driving up demand for the agency's products.

"The privatization discussion is a ruse," Donahoe said in an interview. "We have no interest in privatizing the Postal Service. We are looking to grow our business to provide customer convenience to postal products."

Staples spokeswoman Carrie McElwee referred questions about union concerns to the Postal Service. She said the company "continually tests new products and services to better meet the needs of our customers."

Union leaders fear that if the Staples program is successful, the Postal Service will want to expand it to more than 1,500 of the company's other stores. That could siphon work and customers away from nearby brick-and-mortar post offices, taking jobs from postal workers and even leading traditional post offices to close.

Union leaders have been visiting Staples stores to meet with managers, asking them to share the union's displeasure with upper management.

Dimondstein asked to meet with the Staples CEO Ronald Sargent, who has declined.

The union plans to hold "sustained" protests this month at Staples stores in the San Francisco and San Jose, Calif., area that would be expanded elsewhere. Union officials also are considering how they can exert pressure on Staples shareholders.

"If Staples insists on continuing to refuse to staff those stores with postal workers, we're going to urge people to take their business elsewhere," Dimondstein said.

The union says it's not asking to shut down the program. It wants the counters to be run by postal employees, not workers hired by Staples. The average postal clerk earns about $25 an hour, according to the union, plus a generous package of health and retirement benefits. The Staples post office counters are run by nonunion workers often making little more than the minimum wage.

The Postal Service increasingly has looked to work with the private sector to help increase business. In November, it announced a lucrative deal with Amazon to begin package delivery on Sunday.

The agency has struggled for years with declining mail volume, but the lion's share of its financial plight stems from a 2006 congressional requirement that it make annual $5.6 billion payments to cover expected health care costs for future retirees. It has defaulted on three of those payments. The Postal Service lost $5 billion over the past year, though operating revenue rose 1.2 percent.

So far, the Postal Service has rebuffed the union's demands.

As far as who will staff the counters, "that's Staples' business. They make their own business decisions and it has nothing to do with us," Donahoe said.

Donahoe said he'd like to see post office counters in every Staples store "as soon as possible." But he doesn't see them as replacing any of the 33,000 traditional post offices. He said he sees the program as an opportunity "to grow the business."

James O'Rourke, a professor of management at the University of Notre Dame, said the Postal Service is simply following the trend of other businesses such as banks and medical clinics opening in grocery and drug stores to get more customers and save overhead costs.

"You can't blame the union for looking suspiciously at this move, but from the perspective of postal management and postal customers, this is all good," O'Rourke said.

Donahoe acknowledged that it could save money in employee costs, but insisted that is not the agency's motivating force. Since 2008, the Postal Service has reduced its employees by more than 200,000, mainly through attrition.

"Keeping our expenses down is no different than what any other business would do," he said.

Back in 1988, the Postal Service tried a similar plan to put retail units in Sears stores in Chicago and Madison, Wis. APWU members picketed Sears headquarters in Chicago, mailed thousands of letters of protest to then Sears Chairman Ed Brennan and even cut up their Sears credit cards.

The pressure worked and a year later the program ended, with Sears saying it did not want to be at the center of a dispute between the Postal Service and the union. But the APWU's membership now is almost half of what it was 25 years ago, and unions don't carry the same clout they once did.

Dimondstein, who took the helm of his union in November and pledges a more activist approach, insists his members will bring considerable pressure on Staples.

"I think we have a lot of clout," he said. "We're in every hamlet, town, city and state in the country."


Springfield truck fire spreads to house

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The American Red Cross is assisting the family displaced by the fire.


SPRINGFIELD – A fire that started in a Toyota Tundra pickup truck spread to a nearby house, displacing a family of five.

The fire started at about 2 p.m., Sunday at 33 Forest St. Fire investigators determined the cause was an electrical and mechanical failure in the truck, said Dennis Leger, aid to Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant.

“It wasn’t suspicious at all,” Leger said, adding the fire destroyed the truck.

The fire quickly spread to the single-family house and caused about $60,000 in damage. The Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting the two adults and three children who were displaced by the fire, he said.

Massachusetts prosecutors: Juveniles who commit murder should spend at least 35 years behind bars

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Out of concern for the families of those murdered by juveniles and in the wake of a high court ruling that the most severe penalty is unconstitutional, Massachusetts prosecutors are calling on Beacon Hill to make sure juveniles who commit murder spend at least 35 years behind bars.

By ANDY METZGER

Out of concern for the families of those murdered by juveniles and in the wake of a high court ruling that the most severe penalty is unconstitutional, state prosecutors are calling on Beacon Hill to make sure juveniles who commit murder spend at least 35 years behind bars.

“It is an understatement to say that victims’ families, whose loved ones were brutally taken from them and had believed they had some sense of finality, are devastated,” Massachusetts District Attorneys Association President Jonathan Blodgett wrote in a letter to legislators on Friday. “Therefore, the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association believes this decision is particularly burdensome to the families of the victims of juvenile murderers, as they are now subjected to the possibility that their loved ones’ killers will be released.”

Blodgett asked for legislation that would increase from 15 to 35 years the time before a person convicted of first degree murder as a juvenile could be eligible for parole.

On Christmas Eve the Supreme Judicial Court followed the lead of a U.S. Supreme Court decision – that all automatic sentences of life without parole for offenses committed by juveniles are unconstitutional – and found that all sentences of life without parole for offenses committed by juveniles are unconstitutional.

"With current scientific evidence in mind, we conclude that the discretionary imposition of a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole on juveniles who are under the age of eighteen when they commit murder in the first degree violates the prohibition against 'cruel or unusual punishment'," Justice Francis Spina wrote in the unanimous decision.

The SJC’s decision in the case of Gregory Diatchenko, who stabbed a man to death in Kenmore Square in 1981 when he was 17, said that all inmates sentenced to life without possibility of parole for crimes committed under the age of 18 should be granted a chance at parole.

State law imposes a mandatory sentence of life without the possibility of parole for the crime of first degree murder, however the SJC ruling found that was unconstitutional for murders committed by juveniles.

According to a Parole Board information page, inmates guilty of second-degree murder can be eligible parole after 15 years of imprisonment. The SJC had advised that the punishment for second degree murder should be the basis for dealing with juveniles convicted of first degree murder.

Blodgett, who is the Essex County district attorney, said the Legislature should first address “the lack of distinction in parole eligibility” between first and second degree murder committed by juveniles, and said people who committed first degree murder while under the age of 18 should receive parole eligibility after 35 years.

“Committing first degree murder needs to be dealt with responsibly by the judicial system, and I will be filing legislation with a coalition of senators soon to address the concerns that we share with the district attorneys,” said Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr in a statement. He said, “I do believe judges should have the opportunity to impose meaningful and appropriate sentences for first degree murder, and allowing them to do so will require legislative action.”

“It plainly is within the purview of the Legislature to treat juveniles who commit murder in the first degree more harshly than juveniles who commit other types of crimes, including murder in the second degree,” the SJC ruled.

“As a result of our decision today, in the case of juvenile defendants convicted of homicide crimes committed after August 2, 2012, both murder in the first degree and murder in the second degree are mandatory life-sentence crimes with parole eligibility to be set between fifteen and twenty-five years,” Spina ruled in a similar decision also issued Dec. 24, 2013. “Thus, until the statutory sentencing scheme is further amended, sentencing judges effectively will be required to apply one discretionary parole eligibility range to juveniles convicted of two different crimes.”

Other bills have been filed this session that adjust the penalties for murder committed by juveniles. A bill (H 1492) filed by Rep. Brian Mannal, a Barnstable Democrat and defense attorney, would impose a sentence of 10 years to life imprisonment for first degree murder committed by people between the ages of 14 and 18.

A bill (H 1426) filed by Rep. John Keenan, a Salem Democrat and attorney, would grant parole for people who committed first degree murder while under the age of 18 “at the expiration of the minimum term fixed by the court.”

Neither Keenan’s nor Mannal’s bill have yet had a hearing by the Judiciary Committee, according to the Legislature’s website.

Earlier in the month, Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty, the House chairman of the committee and a Chelsea Democrat who is leaving office to head up Boston’s legal department, told the News Service that legislative action would be necessary after the SJC struck down the statutory penalty for first degree murder committed by juveniles.

After seeking to preserve more judicial discretion, Gov. Deval Patrick signed a sentencing reform bill in 2012. The bill reduced the mandatory sentences for non-violent drug crimes while requiring judges to impose the maximum penalties for habitual offenders who commit violent crimes.

"The Senate President and the Speaker have pledged to return to the subject of mandatory minimum sentencing early in the next session. I take them at their word,” Patrick said in a statement July 31, 2012. “When we do, I trust the decisions we make will be based on data about the costs and trade-offs inherent in the choices we make."


Comet-chasing Rosetta spacecraft wakes up from 3-year slumber, tweets 'Hello World!' in different languages

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The European Space Agency received the all-clear message from its Rosetta spacecraft at 1:18 p.m. EST — a message that had to travel some 500 million miles. Next stop: Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

By FRANK JORDANS

BERLIN — Waking up after almost three years of hibernation, a comet-chasing spacecraft sent its first signal back to Earth on Monday, prompting cheers from scientists who hope to use it to achieve the first landing on a comet.

The European Space Agency received the all-clear message from its Rosetta spacecraft at 7:18 p.m. (1818 GMT; 1:18 p.m. EST) — a message that had to travel some 800 million kilometers (500 million miles).

In keeping with the agency's effort to turn the tense wait for a signal into a social media event, the probe triggered a series of "Hello World!" tweets in different languages.

Dormant systems on the unmanned spacecraft were switched back on in preparation for the final stage of its decade-long mission to rendezvous with the comet named 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Systems had been powered down in 2011 to conserve energy, leaving scientists in the dark about the probe's fate until now.

Because of the time it took Rosetta to wake up, and the long distance between the spacecraft and Earth, the earliest possible hour for a signal to arrive was 6:30 p.m.

"I think it's been the longest hour of my life," said Andrea Accomazzo, the spacecraft's operations manager at ESA's mission control room in Darmstadt, Germany. "Now we have it back."

Scientists will now take control of Rosetta again, a procedure slowed by the 45 minutes it takes a signal to travel to or from the spacecraft, he said.

Europe Comet ChaserView full sizeFILE - This image provided by the European Space Agency shows an artist's impression of the Rosetta orbiter deploying the Philae lander to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The image is not to scale; the Rosetta spacecraft measures 32 meters across including the solar arrays, while the comet nucleus is thought to be about 4 kilometers wide. 

The wake-up call is one of the final milestones for Rosetta before it makes its rendezvous with comet 67P in the summer. The probe will then fly a series of complicated maneuvers to observe the comet — a lump of rock and ice about four kilometers (2.5 miles) in diameter — before dropping a lander called Philae onto its icy surface in November.

The lander will dig up samples and analyze them with its instruments.

Although the spacecraft was launched in 2004, much of the equipment aboard Rosetta and the Philae lander is still considered cutting edge, said Joel Parker of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. The institute developed a specialized camera called ALICE that can detect different chemicals in the comet.

Rosetta is named after a block of stone that allowed archaeologists to decipher ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Scientists hope the space mission will help them understand the composition of comets and thereby discover more about the origins and evolution of our solar system.

Comets are regarded as flying time capsules because they are essentially unchanged for the last 4.6 billion years. Scientists have speculated that comets may be responsible for the water found on some planets. And like asteroids — which are more like giant rocks — comets also pose a theoretical threat to life on Earth.

"Over the millennia, comets have actually affected our evolution," said Paolo Ferri, head of mission operations at the European Space Agency. "There are many theories about comets hitting the Earth and causing global catastrophes. So understanding comets is also important to see in the future what could be done to defend the Earth from comets."

The mission is different from NASA's Deep Impact, a spacecraft that fired a projectile into a comet in 2005 so scientists could study the resulting plume of matter. NASA also managed to land a probe on an asteroid in 2001, but comets are much more volatile places because they constantly release dust and gas that can harm a spacecraft.

NASA is planning another space rock mission between 2019 and 2021. The agency is looking into sending a robotic spaceship to lasso a small asteroid and haul it close to the moon, where spacewalking astronauts would explore it.


Related:

» European Space Agency's Rosetta site


East Longmeadow Select Board asks department heads for 2015 wish lists

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East Longmeadow department heads hope to increase training hours and purchase new equipment in 2015.

EAST LONGMEADOW — Before meeting with the Appropriations Committee in February to discuss the fiscal year 2015 budget, the Board of Selectmen met with department heads to discuss their needs.

All departments were given a 1 percent maximum increase in budgets, said Board of Selectmen Chairman Paul Federici.

Federici said budget numbers will not be released until the Appropriations Committee approves them in the coming weeks. He said the full budget has not been calculated yet since the Department of Public Works and the School Committee prepare separate budgets.

The town generally has a budget ranging between $50 million and $52 million a year with at least half going to the School Department.

Departments heads under the direction of the Board of Selectmen include Council on Aging Director Carolyn Brennan, Recreation Director Colin Drury, Police Chief Douglas Mellis, Fire Chief Paul Morrissette, IT Director Ryan Qumiby, Building Commissioner Daniel Hellyer, Town Accountant Thomas Caliento, Town Clerk Thomas P. Florence, East Longmeadow Cable Access Television Director Don Maki and Town Administrator Nick Breault.

Breault said while the town will be able to meet its contractual agreements with all of the unions this year, both the fire and police contracts are up for renewal next year, which the board should keep in mind.

Brennan said the main item on her wish list would be to be able to provide training for the department's registered nurse.

“One of the things I'm really proud of is that we invested a lot of money and training into our registered nurse," she said. "She has received training in Tai Chi, Matter of Balance and My Life My Health, which evidence shows are all helpful to the well being of our seniors."

Brennan said the wellness programs are popular at the senior center, and with a level service budget, she will not be able to pay for the nurse's further training in these programs.

Quimby, the town's information technology director, said the department would like to keep the Blackboard Connect system, but currently cannot fit the $11,000 contract into a level service budget.

" A lot of the departments use it to make town wide phone calls, and it's also used for emergency calls," Quimby said.

Police Chief Mellis said he would also like to get some additional funding for training.

"The state mandates 40 hours of training, which there is no funding for," he said.

Mellis said his hope is to offer training in defense tactics, drug detection and investigation.

"There are a lot of things going on in town, and I want us to stay on top of it," he said.

Federici said he appreciates the time and effort each department head put into the budget process.

"I thank you for your hard work. It's always difficult to have your purse strings tightened and have to come up with a budget when a majority of the budget is salaries, which go up pursuant to contract," he said.


Chicopee Chamber of Commerce hires Eileen Drumm as new president to replace retiring Gail Sherman

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Gail Sherman has served as the president of the Chicopee Chamber for 17 years.

CHICOPEE – A former hospice worker with a varied background of working in non-profit organizations has been hired to take over as president of the Greater Chicopee Chamber of Commerce.

Eileen P. Drumm, of Chicopee, will officially begin the job on Feb. 3, but she is already spending time working with retiring president Gail A. Sherman, who is leaving the job after 17 years.

“I’m thrilled about this. This is the opportunity of a lifetime,” Drumm said. “I love this chamber.”

Drumm, who most recently worked as the director of community relations at Armbrook Village, a senior living facility in Westfield, earned a master's degree in management of non-profit organizations from American International College in 2011.

Through her past jobs, Drumm joined two different Chamber of Commerce organizations and she said she was so impressed with the work the Greater Chicopee Chamber does she decided to apply to lead the agency when Sherman announced she would be retiring.

“Seeing the wonderful work they do, I thought I would love this and there was the desire to be part of an organization that makes a big difference in the community,” Drumm said.

Drumm was selected unanimously by the 23-member board of directors for the Chamber of Commerce following a search that attracted more than 30 applicants mostly from the Pioneer Valley, said Ronald Proulx, chairman of the board of directors for the chamber.

It was not an easy decision to make but Drumm’s business acumen, her skills in dealing with people, her integrity and her varied career background all added up to made her a good choice for the job, Proulx said.

He would not reveal the salary for the president.

Drumm said she has a strong affinity for hospice work and previously worked as a hospice service representative at Beacon Hospice. She also held several jobs including community liaison at Home and Community Health Services Inc. and was the community liaison and a chaplain at Baystate Health services. Previously she served as assistant minister at Faith United Christ Church.

She credited Sherman with doing a terrific job leading the Chicopee chamber and said she does not expect to make many changes immediately.

“I want to focus on retention and growth and I would like to use current technology to help grow the chamber,” she said.

The chamber is doing a lot now with social media, but Drumm said she would like to expand the use to make it easier for younger members who may be loaded with commitments to get more involved. For example, she said she wants to research holding meetings with Skype to make it easier for people who are traveling or have family responsibilities and can’t physically make a meeting.

Drumm said she would also like to work on making the chamber reach out more regionally.

“I want to expand the footprint into the surrounding areas while retaining the identity that is uniquely Chicopee, which is the warmth and friendliness and helpfulness,” she said.

Holyoke's Kate's Kitchen, Career Closet, Mother Mary's Thrift Store helped by volunteers on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

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Volunteers marked Martin Luther King Day by helping at Holyoke Carer Closet, Kate's Kitchen and Mother Mary's Thrift Store.

HOLYOKE - The specific act of ironing a suit probably is absent from the generally accepted message of Martin Luther King Jr., but let Joanne Castillo explain.

"The people who come to us, our goal is clothing them and making them feel confident about what they're doing. Because if they're confident, they can get a job and get out of poverty," Castillo, program co-coordinator of Holyoke Career Closet, said Monday.

Volunteers ironed and put on hangers hundreds of sport coats, dress pants, shirts, skirts, blouses, dresses and other clothing as a day of service in honor of the King holiday at Career Closet, which provides poor people with neat attire to help them on job interviews.

A total of 21 volunteers from the New England Farm Workers Council and the AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) service program commemorated King by helping at three facilities run by Providence Ministries for the Needy.

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., volunteers helped at Career Closet, which is at Holyoke Community College on Homestead Ave.; Kate's Kitchen at 51 Hamilton St.; and Mother Mary's Thrift Store, 364 High St.

"Martin Luther King Day, we come out serving in the community and Providence Ministries serves the poorest of the poor, so that's why we're here today," said Ana West, VISTA program director with the New England Farm Workers Council, 225 High St.

Castillo, 20, shares coordinating duties at Career Closet with Virginia Constant. The duties are Castillo's service project for the year with AmeriCorps VISTA. Originally from California, her car still bears a license plate from Nova Scotia, one of the places she recently lived, along with Washington, D.C., where she learned of the Career Closet opportunity, she said.

People often donate clothing stuffed in garbage bags, and the five volunteers removed, folded, ironed and hung hundreds of pieces of clothing, she said.

"It's nice to have the volunteers come in and help us get organized because the more organized we are, the better we can help people," Castillo said.

-c61004040f0cd95c.jpegJoanne Castillo 

At Kate's Kitchen, volunteer Amneris Moreno cleaned and organized refrigerators, tossed damaged food and helped serve the daily meal of roast chicken, mashed potatoes, carrots, apples and bananas.

"Being here today has helped me open my eyes. I would like to do more for my community," said Moreno, 28.

Her job with AmeriCorps VISTA includes working with the Board of Health, local stores and others to instill the message about the importance of eating well, a topic she is studying at HCC, she said.

Kate's Kitchen serves 125 to 200 meals a day and provided 54,000 meals in 2013, said Christine Burns, Providence Ministries director of development.

At Mother Mary's Thrift Store, volunteers helped organize the clothing, furniture, small appliances and other items that are donated and then sold at low prices to help Providence Ministries programs here, she said.

King led the civil rights movement from the mid-1950's until his assassination April 4, 1968. He was 39. In his 1963 book "Why We Can't Wait," King referred to the doctrine of using nonviolent actions to force changes to improve people's lives as "the sword that heals," and healing actions take place daily at Career Closet, Kate's Kitchen and Mother Mary's Thrift Store, Burns said.

"Our mission is to feed, clothe and house the needy," she said.

Holyoke police grow mustaches to help group that pays travel fees so veterans can see memorials

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Police officers participating in the fund-raiser to help veterans will get trophies for impressive mustaches.

HOLYOKE -- Police officers are growing mustaches to raise money for a group that pays travel expenses for aging veterans to visit war memorials in Washington, D.C.

The contest known as "Manuary" (a masculine facial hair play on words) lasts through January, though donations will be accepted later, and will benefit Honor Flight New England, of Hooksett, N.H., said a press release from Lt. James Albert.

Each officer pays $20 to enter the contest and three will get trophies at the end of the month for the most impressive mustaches. To donate or for other information contact contact Lt. Matthew F. Moriarty of the Community Policing Division at lt.moriarty@holyokepd.org


National Weather Service warns of snow squalls in Hampden County

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Radar was reporting an area of snow squalls was moving southeast across Western Massachusetts, bringing heavy snow and and wind. A quick inch of snow is possible.

SPRINGFIELD - The National Weather Services is warning Hampden County of snow squalls Monday evening that could make visibility difficult and roads slippery.

Radar was reporting an area of snow squalls was moving southeast across Western Massachusetts, bringing heavy snow and and wind. A quick inch of snow is possible.

Drivers should remain alert as road conditions could change rapidly, especially on highways.

In the Longmeadow area, there were reports of snow and lightning as the squall pass through.

Western Massachusetts Electric Co. was reporting a handful of outages in Springfield and Longmeadow as of 6 p.m.


Hampden-Wilbraham school officials working to develop affordable budget, Wilbraham Selectman Robert Russell says

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A budget meeting with school officials and municipal officials from Hampden and Wilbraham is set for Feb. 12 at Minnechaug Regional High School.

WILBRAHAM - Selectman Robert Russell told the other board members that school officials are struggling to come up with a level services budget for next year that meets the budget parameters the two towns of Wilbraham and Hampden can afford.

2012 wilbraham selectman robert russellRobert Russell 

“They are looking at a mid-March budget,” Russell said of school officials.

A budget meeting with school officials and municipal officials from Hampden and Wilbraham is set for Feb. 12 at Minnechaug Regional High School.

Russell said he had one suggestion that could help the school budget process in future years.

Of the two towns, Hampden has the first Town Meeting - the last Monday in April.

It might make sense to hold the Town Meeting later so the school budget could be developed with the best possible state aid figures available, Russell said.

“We don’t want to use bad numbers” in setting the school budget,” Russell said.

The date of the Town Meeting in Hampden is set by a Hampden bylaw which would have to be changed. He suggested that Wilbraham officials see whether Hampden officials would be interested in changing the bylaw.

The Wilbraham Town Meeting also is set by a bylaw, which states that the Town Meeting be held the Monday before the third Saturday in May.

Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School Committee Chairman Peter Salerno said school officials will have to approve a recommended budget by March 11.

In the meantime, school officials are negotiating collective bargaining agreements and seeking “fair and affordable agreements,” Salerno said.

Last year one-year contracts were ratified between the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District and teachers, paraprofessionals and clerical staff.

School officials said the contract resulted in a cost savings to the district of $600,000.

The teachers received a 1 percent cost of living raise, but agreed to forgo all step increases for the year.



Winter storm could bring 8-12 inches of snow to Greater Boston area

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A weather system moving across the Great Lakes region combined with a resilient arctic vortex system projected to move into the Greater Boston area tomorrow afternoon could bring 8-12 inches of snow while subjecting Cape Cod to blizzard like conditions.

BOSTON — A weather system moving across the Great Lakes region combined with a resilient arctic vortex system projected to move into the Greater Boston area tomorrow afternoon could bring 8-12 inches of snow while subjecting Cape Cod to blizzard like conditions.

Temperatures are expected to be in the 20s and 10s tomorrow and stay like that throughout the week until the weekend when they are expected to just barely climb up above freezing.

The storm will be the third winter storm this season to hit Greater Boston area.

Here is the seven-day forecast from the National Weather Service:

Tonight: A slight chance of snow before 8pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 15. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Tuesday: A chance of snow, mainly after 1pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 18. North wind around 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Tuesday night: Snow likely before 1am, then snow between 1a.m. and 2 a.m., then snow likely with areas of blowing snow after 2 a.m. Low around 10. Wind chill values as low as -4. Blustery, with a north wind 14 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 37 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches possible.

Wednesday: Snow likely with areas of blowing snow before noon, then areas of blowing snow and a slight chance of snow between noon and 2 p.m. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 17. Wind chill values as low as -8. Blustery, with a north wind around 21 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

Wednesday Night: Areas of blowing snow before 10 p.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 5. West wind 14 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 18.

Thursday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 5.

Friday: Sunny, with a high near 19.

Friday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 13.

Saturday: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 32. Chance of precipitation is 30 precent.

Saturday night: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent.

Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 28.

Sunday night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 18.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 26.

Victim identified in failed, fatal Dorchester home invasion

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Boston police officials have released the identity of the man killed during last Wednesday's attempted home invasion in Dorchester.

BOSTON — Boston police officials have released the identity of the man killed during last Wednesday's attempted home invasion in Dorchester.

Jordan Chinapoo, 20, of Roxbury was shot and killed during a failed break-in at an Esmond Street apartment in Dorchester on Wednesday morning.

According to police, Chinapoo was found by police officers in the front of the residence upon their arrival after responding to call about a break-in. Cedric Slayden a second individual involved in the alleged break-in was arrested later in the area after a brief pursuit. Slayden, 18, of Boston was arraigned on Thursday and held on $500,000 cash bail.

The resident of the apartment was briefly taken into custody and has not been charged.

Chianpoo's death has not been classified as a homicide. The third homicide of the year took place the day before near the border of Roxbury and the South End at 996 Tremont St. Ricky Knight, 34, of Brockton was shot in that area and later transported by a private vehicle to Boston Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead. The police are actively investigating his death at this time but have made no arrests.

 

Cold, wind & snow on tap for Western Massachusetts forecast

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Heavy snow is likely across southern New England with blizzard conditions possible beginning Tuesday afternoon.

SPRINGFIELD - Freezing temperatures, brutal wind chills and the possibility of a heavy afternoon snowstorm are on tap for most of Massachusetts for Tuesday.

The National Weather Service in Taunton issued a winter storm watch for much of Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut for Tuesday into Wednesday.

Heavy snow is likely across southern New England with blizzard conditions possible beginning Tuesday afternoon. Boston and Cape Cod may see between 8 and 12 inches, and Western Massachusetts may see between 4 and 8 inches.

The National Weather Service is warning that snow and wind will likely make for difficult driving conditions as roads will soon be covered and visibility will be low.

Temperatures are expected to drop from Monday’s high of 40 degrees to the mid-teens on Tuesday. But heavy winds are expected to create a wind chill of between minus 15 and minus 20.

Nick Morganelli, meteorologist for CBS 3 Springfield, the media partner for The Republican and Masslive.com, said snowfall amounts will range from 2 inches in Greenfield to as much as 6 inches in parts of Hampden County.

“An arctic front pushing through this evening will restore brutal wind chills to 15 below zero by morning. Expect overnight lows near 0 and daytime highs in the teens for most of this week,” he said on Monday.

Alcohol sting results in 11 arrests at Food Works; owner cited for violations

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The Worcester police arrested 10 people for underage drinking and cited the owner of Food Works restaurant with multiple violations in an under-cover alcohol sting.

WORCESTER — The Worcester police arrested 10 people for underage drinking and cited the owner of Food Works restaurant with multiple violations in an under-cover alcohol sting.

"The dining area had many young looking patrons who by now had filled up the booths and tables. The officers observed many of these young patrons ordering alcoholic beverages," stated the Worcester Police Department in a release. "Only once did the officers observe a staff member of the restaurant ask a person for identification."

Undercover officers from the Alcohol Enforcement Unit were conducting a sting at Food Works, 50 Southwest Cut-Off, after receiving information of minors allegedly being served alcohol.

While at the bar, officers observed a number of people drinking who later turned out to be underage, said police. Of the 40 people in the dining area, only five were of legal age to drink alcohol.

The undercover Worcester officers, who were joined by two members of the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC), called for backup fearing that people would begin to flee when they started asking for ID's, said police. They began checking ID's when officers arrived.

Police arrested a total of 10 people and detained two juveniles on charges of being a minor in possession of alcohol. The following people have been charged:

David DiRoberto, 20, of 28 Dolly Dr.
Matthew Mortimer, 19, of 213 Paxton Rd. in Spencer.
Quintessa Smythe, 19, of 42 Boundry Stone Rd. in Sutton.
Guy Vigneau, 18, of 11 Bengtson Lane in Millbury.
Joshua Kramer, 19, of 6 Fox Run in Sutton.
Daniel Piccolo, 20, of 65 Lake Ave.
Nicholas Bratchell, 20, of 4 Longwood Ave.
Patrick Bourke, 19, of 2 Vincent Circle.
Keegan Halpin, 20, of 84 West Mountain St.
Zachary Firmin, 19, of 114 Chester St.

Police also arrested David Albro, 22, of 40 MacArthur Drive in Millbury who was charged with possession of an open container of alcohol after allegedly being seen by officers consuming a mixed alcoholic beverage in the parking lot.

The owner of the restaurant was allegedly observed serving alcohol to minors and will be receiving a number of violations that will be handled by the ABCC, according to Worcester police.

Rev. Talbert Swan, NAACP urge Springfield police to increase Old Hill patrols in wake of shooting

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Rev. Talbert W. Swan II said recent criminal activity along the Union Street corridor “corridor are indicative of an unfortunate culture of violent offenses.

Updates stories posted Monday at 5:35 a.m. and at 12:15 p.m.


SPRINGFIELD — The head of the Greater Springfield Chapter of the NAACP on Monday asked Police Commissioner William Fitchet to step up patrols in the area of Union Street in the Old Hill neighborhood to help reduce problems from violence, gangs and drugs.

Rev. Talbert W. Swan II, in a letter to Fitchet, said recent criminal activity along the Union Street corridor “are indicative of an unfortunate culture of violent offenses and gun related incidents that threaten the safety of residents in that neighborhood.”

Swan’s letter was issued less than a day after an unnamed man was shot in the head at about 11 p.m. Sunday near 515 Union St. The man, though critically injured, is expected to survive, according to police.

The scene of the most recent shooting was just a few doors away from the city’s most recent homicide. Abdul-Azeez Baker, 21, died of multiple gunshot wounds after he was shot inside 513 Union St. on Dec. 22.

There have been no arrests in either case.

Four of the city’s 19 homicides last year were in the Old Hill/Six Corners neighborhoods.

“The drug activity and other illegal acts, which occur on a regular basis in this area, is of great concern to the residents, business owners, faith community and other concerned parties and stakeholders,” Swan said.

For Sunday night’s shooting to occur on the eve of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday “demonstrates the blatant disregard for life and property by the criminal element that terrorizes this community,” Swan said.

Swan said he and members of the neighborhood are interested in working with police to develop a plan to “drive out the thug element and make it safer for residents and other concerned parties.”

He said he is arranging a community meeting for 11 a.m. Friday at the Spring of Hope Church, 35 Alden St., and invited Fitchet to attend.

Fitchet, in October, re-deployed the department’s Street Crimes Unit to target hot spots as a way to curb violence. The order came days after a spate of violence that saw four homicides in a two-week period, including two in Old Hill just blocks away from Union Street.

Fitchet's aide, Sgt. John Delaney, said if Swan wants to work with the police to curb violence there, the department would welcome it.

“The police department embraces help from the community and the clergy in helping to solve the problem of gangs, drugs and gun violence in the city of Springfield,” Delaney said. “The police department needs cooperation from the community in all parts of the city.”

He said representatives from the department will be at the meeting on Friday.


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Former Chicopee computer employee says the system makes it nearly impossible to delete documents

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Michael Lareau worked as a senior systems engineer from 2004 to 2010 and designed the system used today.

CHICOPEE – The former senior systems engineer who designed much of the back-up computer systems in the city said it is impossible to delete emails from the city computer network and extremely difficult to erase documents.

Michael Lareau, who worked for the city from 2004 through Oct. 2010, said he mostly designed the system that is being used today and said there are back-ups that block anything from being deleted permanently.

He came forward to explain the system after Mayor Richard J. Kos called for an investigation of his predecessor Michael D. Bissonnette over missing public records.

In a letter to the state attorney general, inspector general and secretary of state, Kos said more than 28,000 emails and many electronic documents were deleted. In addition, all computers in the mayor’s office were scrubbed, and information on portable devices, including a cell phone and tablet, were deleted.

Bissonnette said he did nothing improper. All electronic and paper documents were left with the department head or employee in charge of the project. Network servers in City Hall and in a remote location also back up anything deleted. In addition, binders of information were left in the city’s law office.

“I think it is important to say I am not using this as a mechanism to support the position of Mr. Bissonnette or Mr. Kos,” Lareau said. “I have zero political ties or connections to the city.”

Lareau was hired during Mayor Richard R. Goyette’s administration and worked for Bissonnette. He left in 2010 for a job at a private company.

He mostly worked under Kenneth F. Krech, director of information technology, who died in November 2011. Krech was replaced by Thomas Manley, who resigned in December. Currently Tammy Shafer is working as the acting director.

Lareau gave a basic description of how email was backed up in the system.

“When an employee sends or receives an email through the city’s email system, that message is duplicated and preserved on a separate appliance with a significant amount of data storage. That retention time is set to seven years. If a user deletes a message from their inbox or sent items folder, and then subsequently deletes it from their deleted items folder, it is still retained on the separate appliance. At any point the city’s I.T. Department has the ability to restore said email messages,” he wrote.

All employees were encouraged to store documents on one of several drives they could access. All those locations were on servers that were backed up frequently.

“We found the majority of information used on a daily basis was stored in a location that was backed up,” he said, adding many documents were shared between employees through another system that was saved automatically.

The backups were in a server in the city hall as well as one at a remote location and allowed employees in the informational technology department to restore a document if it was deleted accidentally.

Lareau said he understands some changes have been made to the back-up system but the newer system is similar.

“There are ways to permanently remove a file, but it is very difficult," he said.

When employees left, it was common practice for the department to lock accounts and clean their computer for the next employee, he said.

Chicopee schools expand technology use to give teachers instant feedback

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The devices look like a television remote control and are keyed into an interactive white board.


CHICOPEE – Immediately after answering four questions about fractions, Gabriella Martin knows she has the first, third and fourth right but the second has an X next to it, showing it is wrong.

“There are X’s and checks. If you get an X, you try to do it again and see if you get it right,” said the 10-year-old fifth-grader.

Her class is one of four at Anna Barry School that is using new technology to give teachers and students instant feedback on what children have learned and what concepts they need extra help to comprehend.

Each child is given a device that looks like a remote control with numbers and letters. Each child has a password, and every response they key into the devices are sent electronically to the school’s interactive white boards.

Allyson Sederland, a fifth-grade teacher, said she has grown to love the system, which she uses in morning and post-lunch reviews. She also uses them for spelling tests and for centers, when students are divided into small groups to do independent work.

For the reviews she typically asks a multiple choice question, a true-false question and a question or two that can be answered in a few numbers or letters. As children finish, they typing in their answers and Sederland said she can see how many are done and a pie chart shows the percentage of the class that answered correctly. She can also see which children got the question wrong.

After everyone answered the math questions, she talked to them about the results.

barry schoolAnna Barry School 5th-grader Ashley Gauthier uses her remote-control device to answer questions along with the rest of the class that are then tabulated on the class interactive white board. 

“Everyone got number one right, we don’t have to go over number one,” she said. But far more children did not answer the second question correctly.

“It tells me we have a problem we need to discuss. ... I will reteach it and bring it up in a center,” she said.

Sederland said it takes time to develop the questions and type them into a computer, but she has labeled each lesson so she can reuse it next year. While it takes longer to program in the questions, it also saves time on correcting and tells her immediately what her class knows.

The devices have been used at other schools in Chicopee, and when John Endelos was hired a principal of Barry School this spring, he found one set of 32 in a closet.

The devices were popular among teachers at Fairview Veterans Memorial Middle School, where he was a vice principal, so Endelos proposed using them at Barry. He offered a training session and invited any interested teacher to attend.

When several said they were interested, Endelos said he used school money to buy three more sets, which are all being used. The price has dropped from about $1,700 to $1,000 or less, so he is hoping to purchase three more soon.

“It really helps to engage the kids. They really like them,” he said.

Across the hall in Krystal DeJesus’s fourth-grade class, students were using them with individual assignments.

While she said it makes it easier to know which children are done and who needs help, she still also corrects work by hand so parents can see how their children are doing.

“I think it is great, and it was easy to use,” said DeJesus, who started using the devices last month.

One of her students, 9-year-old Victoria Giec, had just finished a language arts lesson answering questions with the devices. She said the class uses them for math too.

“It is pretty fun. We had to answer questions about synonyms and antonyms,” she said, giving an example of one of her questions. “Icy and freezing is an antonym or a synonym. I said synonym, and I was right.”

Democratic state Sen. Gale Candaras, of Wilbraham, will announce run for Hampden register of probate

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Likely candidates for Candaras' state Senate seat include: Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce President Debra Boronski, a Republican, State Rep. Angelo Puppolo of Springfield and chairman of the Ludlow School Committee James "Chip" Harrington, both Democrats.

BOSTON - State Sen. Gale Candaras, D-Wilbraham, plans to run for Hampden register of probate, leaving the state Legislature after 17 years.

Candaras said she will announce her future plans on Tuesday morning at Old First Church in Springfield’s Court Square, across the plaza from the Hampden Hall of Justice where the probate registry is located.

State Sen. Stanley Rosenberg, D-Amherst, the Senate majority leader, and U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, both longtime friends and colleagues, will join Candaras for her announcement.

A press release, issued about the announcement, said only that Candaras would be making public whether she is running for reelection to the state Senate or for register of probate. Numerous sources familiar with the senator's plans said Candaras will seek the probate register's job.

She will become the second longtime Western Massachusetts senator to announce plans not to seek reelection to the Legislature; last week, state Sen. Stephen Brewer, D-Barre, said he will leave the Senate at the end of his term in January.

Candaras' decision will kick off what should become a lively race for her seat, which includes Belchertown, Chicopee, East Longmeadow, Granby, Hampden, Longmeadow, Ludlow, Springfield and Wilbraham

Republican Debra Boronski, a longtime chamber of commerce activist, is already running. On the Democratic side, state Rep. Angelo Puppolo, of Springfield, and chairman of the Ludlow School Committee James "Chip" Harrington are both likely to make their own announcements once Candaras formally declares her intentions.

Candaras, an attorney, has spent 17 years in the Legislature. She served as a state representative from 1997 to 2006 and in the Senate since 2007, representing the 1st Hampden and Hampshire District.

Before that, she was active in Wilbraham town government, as a selectman and member of the Planning Board and Finance Committee.

In the Senate, Candaras chairs the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies and is vice chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary. She also chairs a caucus of women legislators.

Candaras has recently been active in getting the state to examine the impact of impending construction on the Hampden Hall of Justice in Springfield and to look at future plans for the building.

Candaras is familiar with the Hampden Probate & Family Cour since she practiced family law there as an attorney. As a legislator, she rewrote the state’s alimony laws. She is currently working toward a master of laws degree in estate planning.

Candaras told The Republican and MassLive.com in November that she knows the justices in the probate court, the court facility and the issues facing the court. “I am looking at that position very closely because I think it would be a natural segue for me,” Candaras said. “I’d be a very strong candidate for that court.”

Candaras is a graduate of Western New England University School of Law and holds a degree in business management from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She is married to Arthur Wolf, a professor at Western New England University School of Law.

The job would be closer to home for Candaras and would also boost her salary and pension. As of July 1, the register of probate salary will be $130,613.

So far, the only declared candidate for Hampden register of probate is Suzanne Seguin. Seguin, of Westfield, has been the interim register of probate since long-time register Thomas P. Moriarty Jr. retired in 2012. Seguin has worked in the Probate & Family Court for 14 years and was previously a clerk in Hampden Superior Court.

Former Chicopee Mayor Michael Bissonnette said in a Jan. 5 email that he will make a decision on getting into the register of probate race shortly. "The encouragement received throughout the county is causing me take a hard look at how I could help improve consumer service at the Hampden County Courthouse," Bissonnette wrote. "Dealing with the courts can be challenging for most people (even lawyers). My combination of administrative experience, budget management and 20 years as a practicing attorney provides the skill set needed to undertake that challenge."

As of June, Candaras had $85,000 in her campaign account. Her end-of-year financial report is due by midnight Monday but was not yet on the Office of Campaign and Political Finance's website as of mid-day.

Political analyst Tony Cignoli said Candaras' decision to enter the race will give it a higher profile. "With someone like Candaras entering, the anticipation is it will be a high profile race and will focus on what the office does and how it affects the lives of real people," Cignoli said.

So far, Boronski, a Republican from East Longmeadow, is the only officially declared candidate for Candaras' Senate seat.

Boronski has been president of the Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce for the last seven years. She founded the statewide chamber after spending 20 years working for other business associations, including the Chicopee Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts. Boronski said her time running the Massachusetts chamber allowed her to be more involved in the legislative process as a lobbyist. She successfully advocated to increase the cap for which a matter can be brought to small claims court from $2,000 to $7,000. She pushed for a law stating that Massachusetts businesses may be given preference in bidding for state contracts.

"I've enjoyed that process and decided I can take that skill set and my 27 years of working and trying to make communities better and put that to good use in the state Senate," Boronski said. "I felt…I could be heard a little more clearly if I was at the table."

Boronski's campaign chairman is Democrat Evan Plotkin, the president of a real estate brokerage and management company in Springfield who is active on numerous community boards and is a major patron of the arts.

Among Democrats, Harrington said recently that he plans to make his announcement on Jan. 23. Harrington owns Our Town Variety store in Ludlow. He told The Republican and MassLive.com after a Belchertown selectman's meeting that he is also a part-time police officer and former corrections officer. A major goal of his would be to increase funding for area police departments.

Puppolo has been a state representative since 2006 and is currently vice chairman of the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight. He spent nine years on the Springfield City Council. Puppolo is an attorney who earned his law degree at Western New England University School of Law. He is involved in several civic and charitable organizations including the Elks and Knights of Columbus.

Puppolo said he will likely run for Candaras' seat, but will not make a formal announcement until after Tuesday. “I have been discussing what is best for my family and constituents and will make that decision known soon,” Puppolo said. “I have been overwhelmed with support from across our district calling on me to run for Senate, and to continue the strong, effective leadership for our area.”

Springfield police arrest suspect in November homicide of William Serrano

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Police arrested 20-year-old Alex Santana of Allison Lane in connection with the Serrano homicide.

SPRINGFIELD -- Police have arrested a second suspect in the Nov. 10 shooting death of William Serrano, a 34-year-old city man gunned down near the "X" in Forest Park, police said.

alex santanaAlex Santana
Sgt. John Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William Fitchet, said Tuesday that police arrested 20-year-old Alex Santana of 11 Allison Lane in connection with the Serrano homicide.

Santana was charged with murder, assault with intent to murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling.

He was arrested in the driveway of his home on Friday afternoon by Springfield detective Michael Goggin and members of the Warrant Apprehension Unit. He was arrested without incident.

He denied the charges at his arraignment Tuesday in Springfield District Court.

Santana was ordered held without bail and is due back in court on Feb. 13 for a bind-over hearing to determine if his trial should proceed in superior court.

Amadi Sosa, 19, of 364 Orange St., was arrested on Nov. 14 and charged with murder in connection with the case. He denied charges and is being held without bail at Hampden County Correction Center in Ludlow.

His younger brother was charged also, but an attorney for that brother said the charges were dropped and the teenager has been released.

Police believe Serrano was killed as part of a robbery.

Serrano had been shot multiple times. He was the 17th of 19 homicides in Springfield during 2013.

In November, Springfield police also obtained an arrest warrant for 25-year-old Julio Leiva as a suspect in Serrano's death.

Santana's arrest comes as a result of what Delaney described as an extensive investigation by Lt. Thomas Kennedy, Lt. Trent Hufnagel and Detective Timothy Kenney of the department's homicide unit.


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Psych evaluation ordered for Christian McFadden; held without bail on charge of assaulting 11-month-old cousin

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A judge ordered a psychological evaluation for Christian McFadden who has reportedly been off his medication for a month and is charged with assaulting his 11-month-old cousin.

WORCESTER — A judge ordered a psychological evaluation for Christian McFadden who has reportedly been off his medication for a month and is charged with assaulting his 11-month-old cousin.

"The defendant, on two occasions, did pick up the 11-month-old and violently shake her while she was crying," said Assistant District Attorney Courtney Price, citing statement from a named witness during McFadden's Monday arraignment. "He has not been on his medication, your honor, for at least a month."

18-year-old Christian McFadden, of Auburn, was ordered held without bail with a 20-day psychiatric evaluation on a charge of assault and battery on a child with injury. The child had injuries to the spine and a buckle fracture on his right elbow, said Price.

She who argued for a stay away order keeping McFadden away from his family if he were to be released.

McFadden's mother allegedly had to restrain him in the past and he has previously assaulted both his mother and his grandmother, she said.

"The mother indicated to DCF that her mother, the defendant's grandmother, has a shoulder injury as a result of McFadden's behavior," said Price who stated there were also holes in the wall and doors ripped off the wall by McFadden.

Identifying witness information in the case was ordered impounded. McFadden's next court date was set for Feb. 7.

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